Toilet seats are typically disposed directly on the bowl of the toilet and designed to offer comfort to the user. Many modifications of toilet seats have been developed over the years. Although modified toilet seats may be adequate for some purposes, such seats have not been designed to accommodate in one unit the needs of nonwheelchair users inflicted with balance-affecting disorders or requiring some help in stabilizing themselves while also being useful to those individuals who are wheelchair bound.
There are multitudes of situations where it is difficult for a person to raise from or lower him/herself on a toilet seat. For others, the seat is too low and individuals do not have the ability to flex their hips far enough to place themselves into the required position. Some groups of elderly or infirm lack the stability to safely execute this necessary task. Another large and rapidly increasing group of the population having great difficulty in placing themselves on a toilet are the wheelchair users.
For transfer from a wheelchair to a toilet seat aid it is common to utilize a long sliding board having one end connected to the seat of the wheelchair and the other end resting on the toilet seat aid itself. In this condition, the wheelchair user usually grabs and pulls himself/herself over the board on the toilet. A significant problem may arise with this method in that the prior art toilet seat does not provide a sufficiently stable base for such sliding boards.
In addition, the conventional toilet seats often do not provide stationary elements helping individuals stabilize their position. It should be noted that the structure of a toilet seat can be an indispensable aid in resolving the above discussed problems.
Thus, it has been a long felt and unsolved need for a toilet seat arrangement capable of serving in one unit individuals requiring help in stabilizing themselves while seated and persons bound to a wheelchair. Furthermore, there has long been a need for a superimposed, raised toilet seat arrangement capable of serving individuals with balance-affecting disorders.
The design of a reversible toilet seat aid of one embodiment of the invention is capable of accommodating the needs of the first two categories of users. The toilet seat aid of another embodiment of the invention provides the raised superimposed toilet seat aid for individuals having difficulties in lowering and raising from conventional toilet seat aids and suffering from balance-affecting disorders.